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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. content — the amount
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bulb — for light
  9. mate — to breed
  10. content — happy
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wax — to grow
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. shower — to wash
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bulb — for light
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com